Higher fees are long overdue

Wednesday

Mar 21, 2007 at 12:01 AM

Alabama's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources says it needs to raise the price of hunting, fishing and boating licenses. The big question may be why has the agency waited this long to raise the fees, which have been the same since 1989.The department does not get state money, relying on its revenues as matching money for federal grants. Alabama's fees are some of the lowest in the nation, but the department is very active. In addition to paying for wildlife studies, maintaining public lands and waterways, the department pays for game wardens and marine police officers. And it also handles some non-game projects such as bald eagle stocking programs.The department has 19 game warden positions and 12 marine police officer positions that are open. They will stay that way unless more money comes in. Commissioner Barnett Lawley says the vacancies could increase as more people retire.By most accounts, the department has done a good job managing Alabama's game populations, but that may not be true for long if the license fees aren't raised. Maintaining the state's abundant wildlife resources is important to the economy with Alabama ranking fifth in the nation in the amount of money hunters spend per year.Some 7 percent of Alabamians buy hunting licenses, which at $16 per year have to be considered a bargain. A fishing license is only $9.50 annually and 27 percent of Alabamians buy those. The proposed increases would raise the fees to $24 for a hunting license and $12 for a fishing license, still very affordable prices. In contrast, in Tennessee it costs $112 to get everything an Alabama hunting license offers.The department's advisory committee recommended the new fees and they must be approved by the Legislature. If approved, the price hike would take place starting in August. Lawley would also like license fees linked to a cost-of-living index and the Legislative Council given the authority to raise the rates, allowing for smaller increases more frequently. As long as a cap accompanies that plan and as long as the department continues to do a good job, we see no reason not to follow his recommendations.

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